5 Ways To Summer-Proof Your Beauty Bag

Well, aren’t we the nation of lucky-ducks this week! Our SPF-coated limbs unfolding to face the rays, basking under bright blue skies, gorging on ice cream (and indulging in probably a little too much Ros?).

We seem to have no reservations with stripping off to show extra flesh, but how confident do you feel in adapting your beauty regime to suit the sun? I still seem to spy some fully made-up faces when out and about – even when people are stripped to St Tropez levels of sartorial summer glam, their faces still say Winter. ?The thing is, there’s no need. Summer sunshine is about skin looking fresh and glowy. Foundation take a backseat please; this is a job for other products.

Here’s how to look hot in the heat…

Ace Your Base
You need your base to be matte and protective in the sun – adding higher SPF to the beauty mix can add a whole load of slippy shine if you’re not careful. Using a product like the Mineral Matte UV Defense SPF30 by SkinCeuticals helps to control any oil in the skin as well as upping protection. It’s skin colour too, so no need for blending in overly white lines, and it could be enough on it’s own for some people.

Let Your Glow Show
Use a BB cream or tint foundation to even out skin tone without adding layers of coverage. We want to see skin in Summer, not a heavy canvas. The classic makeup artist go-to, Face & Body by MAC is ideal -it comes in great shades and as the name suggests, it’s light enough to use on the body too (that’s that purple hue on legs taken care of!).

Lighten Up On Eyes
Bright sunny days are not for heavy shadow or eyeliner. Think beach nymph rather than sexy vixen and keep colours on eyes to one or two max. Shimmery champagne and oyster tones are always better for lids and swap out your black liner for something navy or aqua for night.

Bronze & Shine
Use a peach-based bronzing powder on the high points of the face to mimic a natural tan and add a gold-toned shimmer to the tops of cheekbones. The Kate Moss sculpting kit for Rimmel is a fab collection of colours for summer – we’ve been hooked since we tried it.

Balm or Bold
These, my friends are your two choices for lips in summer – a light, lip coloured balm looks fresh and pretty for day, and changing it up to a warm, orangey-red looks the epitome of chic for night. Morange by MAC and Sunset Orange by Bobbi Brown are spot on for summer colour pop lips. Keep the plums, browns and dead-looking nudes where they belong – winter.